Review: The Hindi-Bindi Club by Monica Pradhan.

Book: The Hindi-Bindi Club

Author: Monica Pradhan

Pages: 426

How Long it took me to Read: 1 day

Plot Summary:  For decades they have remained close, sharing treasured recipes, honored customs, and the challenges of women shaped by ancient ways yet living modern lives. They are the Hindi-Bindi Club, a nickname given by their American daughters to the mothers who left India to start anew—daughters now grown and facing struggles of their own.

For Kiran, Preity, and Rani, adulthood bears the indelible stamp of their upbringing, from the ways they tweak their mothers’ cooking to suit their Western lifestyles to the ways they reject their mothers’ most fervent beliefs. Now, bearing the disappointments and successes of their chosen paths, these daughters are drawn inexorably home.

Kiran, divorced, will seek a new beginning—this time requesting the aid of an ancient tradition she once dismissed. Preity will confront an old heartbreak—and a hidden shame. And Rani will face her demons as an artist and a wife. All will question whether they have the courage of the Hindi-Bindi Club, to hold on to their dreams—or to create new ones.

An elegant tapestry of East and West, peppered with food and ceremony, wisdom and sensuality, this luminous novel breathes new life into timeless themes. 

Characters: The mother daughter pairs ( 3 of them) form the crux of the narrative. The Deshpande duo- Kiran and Meenal are dominant part of the narrative and most of the story is seen from their perspective. I liked both the women, but I liked Meenal- the mother a little bit more. 

All the characters in the book are well constructed in their realities, first and second generation immigrants come across as in a manner that one has seen and heard. The characters authentic and real. 

What I Liked: So much! 

I liked the lack of Immigrant angst. It was refreshing to read a book about immigrants without the often over-done longing for India and the life that they've left behind. These were clearly people who missed their motherland but made the best of the opportunity of being abroad. This view of things is more congruent with what most immigrants feel these days. Some other books along similar lines, like The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri- which I absolutely loved- made it seem like it's character hated their lives in America and living there and being away from India was a miserable experience. I liked that the author doesn't go on and on and on about missing India. 

I also liked that the second generation, the daughters, all married Westerners and none of them were shown entering into arranged marriage with suitable Indian boys. I liked that these characters were modern enough to not force thier daughters into a traditional marriage. 

I also loved the sense of community depicted in the book. 

But the thing I perhaps liked most was that the book is full of recipes! Each chapter ends with a recipe or two. I love, love, love books with little details like this. I have already tried one recipe from the book (last night in fact) and it was pretty amazing. I tried out a Maharashtra style Chicken Curry and it was awesome. I can't wait to try out more recipes from the book. 

What I Didn't Like: There wasn't much to complain about in this book. Except, I thought the ending was a little rushed. While the Deshpande arc of the tale was neatly wrapped up, the other two stories were left off in a rushed and unfinished manner. I wished there had been a little more closure in those tales too. 

Also there were some issues with Bengali portions in the book. But it wasn't a deal breaker. 

General Thoughts: I picked this book up a couple of months ago on super massive sale. I thought it would be a fun chick-lit sorta read. I picked it up last week, thinking it would be a fun light read. My expectations were fairly low and this book was a delightful surprise! I really enjoyed it and recommend it. 

Will you like it? I reckon you will. 

Rating: 4/5